"Data from the real estate database Zillow show the median monthly rent in Eastie has climbed more than 40 percent in four years, reaching $2,255 in December, bringing the neighborhood in line with rental prices in the rest of the city, according to Zillow’s rental index. Boston rents as a whole increased about 20 percent in the same period.

'You’re taking families away from their social fabric, leading to the weakening of the social fabric and the societal problems we’re seeing in East Boston today,' said Del Castillo, who leads weekly meetings at which residents seek legal help with their housing problems.

'Young people are being moved from home to home, school system to school system. . . . All of this puts kids at risk.'"

In honor of MLK's birthday and the longstanding black community in Dudley Square, City Life/Vida Urbana stood with Felicha, Carolyn, and other remaining renters in the wake of an attempted building-wide "clear out" on Ruggles Street. These remaining renters are now threatened with eviction too.

"As rents rise across the city, Dudley Square seems to be drawing real estate developers who aim to attract tenants seeking the more moderate side of market rate housing....Real estate developers like the Mayo Group apparently are banking on the district’s improved curb appeal as they usher in more market rate units. Brokers and real estate agents also said they expect many tenants to flock in from other neighborhoods as rents elsewhere in the city continue to rise." CLICK BELOW for the whole story.

“'There’s just such an explosion in the rental market and it’s just not possible to find another place,' Maria Christina Blanco, a City Life/Vida Urbana organizer, said. Many who can’t afford their apartments end up on the street, with few affordable options for housing left to choose from, Blanco said. Many, she said, end up in shelters. 'It’s really about working-class tenants and homeowners being able to live in Boston and not being pushed out,' Blanco said. 'That’s what we think is really in everyone’s interest long-term.'"

Our Executive Director, Lisa Owens Pinto, discusses the new book When We Fight, We Win:Twenty-First-Century Social Movements and the Activists That Are Transforming Our World on Boston Neighborhood Network TV's show, People's Platform. Check it out by clicking below!

As the campaign for Just Cause tenant protections grows in Boston, the media coverage multiplies. Bay State Banner says, "Members of the Right to Remain Coalition got a boost of confidence and now seek to seize momentum after their campaign for legislation protecting tenants from no-fault evictions received a flurry of media and political attention." Check out the whole story!

Our iconic leader, Mr. Marshall Cooper, stars in this "Transformations" story. For 6 years, Mr. Marshall has been fighting foreclosure, working with a local nonprofit that wants to buy his home and turn it into permanently affordable housing. Mr. Marshall has been at essentially every action to stop displacement and racism in Boston since 2010. Show your commitment to the movement by DONATING TODAY at www.clvu.org/donate.

DECEMBER 16TH, 2015: Over one-hundred City of Boston residents, including representatives of a dozen tenants' associations and individuals facing eviction, lit and decorated a "Justice Tree" with messages of hope for stronger protections from no-fault eviction. DONATE TODAY at www.clvu.org/donate!

Boston's Mayor, Marty Walsh, expressed tentative support for the proposed "Just Cause" tenant protections in Boston. He said, “We’ll continue to have conversations about this and how it works...If everything worked out positively we could do something, absolutely.” READ THE STORY BELOW:

In Part 2 of our series of "Transformations" video stories, we hear from Domingo. Domingo is fighting to stay in his Boston home after foreclosure by Fannie Mae. "I began to lose the fear of speaking," Says Domingo. "Yes, I have my voice...now I'm not afraid of facing anyone." HELP MAKE TRANSFORMATIONS HAPPEN - DONATE TODAY at www.clvu.org/donate. We need to raise $80K by December 31st, and together we're going to do it!

Powered by people like you

City Life/Vida Urbana
284 Amory Street, First Floor
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
tel (617) 524-3541 fax (617) 524-3555
Sign in with Facebook, Twitter or email.
Created with NationBuilder. We also use Podio to keep our work simple.